The disclosed embodiments relate generally to a system and method for improving the operability of a print production environment (including standalone or networked print shops) and, more particularly to a system and method for segmenting print production related data to improve the operability of the print production environment.
Document production environments, such as networked or non-networked print shops, convert printing orders, such as print jobs, into finished printed material. A print shop may process print jobs using resources such as printers, cutters, collators and other similar equipment. Typically, resources in print shops are organized such that when a print job arrives from a customer at a particular print shop, the print job can be processed by performing one or more production functions. As illustrated in U.S. Pat. No. 6,573,910 to Duke et al., the pertinent portions of which are incorporated herein by reference, print shops may be communicate with one another by way of a network.
In a significant number of modern print shops, comprehensive data relating to, among other things, equipment, job mix, job flow and labor assignments of a print shop, typically is collected with, among other things, semi automated means such as “handhelds.” A comprehensive discussion of the types of data collected in a document production environment is provided in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/946,756, filed Sep. 22, 2004, by Duke et al., Publication No. 20050065830, published on Mar. 24, 2005, the pertinent portions of which are incorporated herein by reference. In one example of data collection, a handheld is used to read bar codes printed on jobs in a print shop, and automatically record the jobs progress through the shop. Given these data items, improved analyses of the data using process models of the shop that are amenable to analysis relative to alternative configurations and control policies in order to assess the productivity of the shop relative to these alternatives is facilitated. Additionally, by measuring the flow of jobs at various points in the work process, and using flow metrics to characterize this flow, the state of flow in the shop at selected instants in time can be evaluated and this information used to change the scheduling of the jobs, their routing and the allocation of labor in such a fashion as to improve the flow and hence the productivity of the shop.
Referring to U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/289,891, filed Nov. 30, 2005, by S. Rai, Publication No. 20070124182, published on May 31, 2007, the pertinent portions of which are incorporated herein by reference, data is collected from a document production environment and processed with statistical analysis. In particular, statistical metrics are developed by assuming that the collected data corresponds with a given distribution type, such as a normal distribution. As indicated in the '182 publication, if a distribution is assumed to be normal when it is not, then the resulting statistical metrics will generally not suitably characterize the collected data. Distribution types of data sets collected from document production environments can vary widely, and using the wrong distribution type in statistically processing data collected from such environments can yield erroneous statistical metrics, resulting in incorrect and costly decisions regarding resource allocation.
In one aspect of the disclosed embodiments there is disclosed a system for processing data collected from a document production environment. The system includes: (A) a computer implemented data processing platform; and (B) a computer-readable storage medium comprising one or more programming instructions that, when executed, instruct the computer implemented data processing platform to: (1) read a set of document production related data, the document production related data being represented as a normal distribution or a non-normal distribution, (2) determine that the set of document production related data should be represented as a non-normal distribution, (3) perform a first test to determine whether the non-normal distribution should be analyzed pursuant to a first analytic category, (4) determine, with the first test of said (B)(3), that the non-normal distribution should not be analyzed pursuant to the first analytic category, (5) perform a second test to determine whether the non-normal distribution should be analyzed pursuant to a second analytic category, (6) determine, with the second test of said (B)(5), whether the non-normal distribution should be analyzed pursuant to the second analytic category, and (7) when it is determined, with the second test of (B)(5), that the non-normal distribution should be analyzed pursuant to the second analytic category, provide an output indicating that the non-normal distribution should be analyzed pursuant to the second analytic category.
In another aspect of the disclosed embodiments there is disclosed a computer implemented method for segmenting data collected from a document production environment. The method includes: (A) providing a set of document production related data, the document production related data being represented as a normal distribution or a non-normal distribution; (B) determining, with a computer implemented data processing platform, that the set of document production related data should be represented as a non-normal distribution; (C) performing, with the computer implemented data processing platform, a first test to determine whether the non-normal distribution should be analyzed pursuant to a first analytic category; (D) determining, with said (C), that the non-normal distribution should not be analyzed pursuant to the first analytic category; (E) performing, with the computer implemented data processing platform, a second test to determine whether the non-normal distribution should be analyzed pursuant to a second analytic category; and (F) when it is determined, with said (E), that the non-normal distribution should be analyzed pursuant to the second analytic category, providing an output indicating that the non-normal distribution should be analyzed pursuant to the second analytic category
In yet another aspect of the disclosed embodiments there is disclosed a computer implemented method for processing a segmented set of document production related data. The set of document production related data includes a first distribution and the method includes: (A) partitioning the first distribution into a second distribution and a third distribution; (B) determining, with a computer implemented data processing platform, whether (1) the second distribution is normal or non-normal, and (2) the third distribution is normal or non-normal; (C) when it is determined with said (B) that the second distribution is non-normal, categorizing the second distribution into one of a plurality of analytic categories; (D) when it is determined with said (B) that the third distribution is non-normal, categorizing the third distribution into one of the plurality of analytic categories; and (E) providing an output indicating whether (1) the second distribution belongs to a normal distribution or one of the plurality of analytic categories, and (2) the third distribution belongs to a normal distribution or one of the plurality of analytic categories.